Tapadero' examines life of a buckaroo
By Karin Driesen/Staff Writer

Horses and ranches, cattle and cowboys, old adobe missions and Mexico. They all contributed to California history, and they continue to fascinate many of us who live here.

It was that fascination that prompted Santa Barbara filmmaking couple Paul Singer and Susan Jensen to capture the enduring legacy of those historical institutions in the documentary “Tapadero,” and they want to share a taste of the old days with the rest of the Central Coast.

They will screen their latest documentary on the vaquero and the people who continue to practice the 300-year-old tradition of the California cowboy, at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4 at the Santa Ynez Historical Museum.

“As filmmakers, it's always better when it's a labor of love,” said Singer. “We have two horses and a mule, and I ride every chance I get.”

Today, there are vaqueros and buckaroos in California who still work in the old style and tradition of their predecessors. In fact, “There's a whole revival of this vaquero style of training,” said Jensen.

One ranch where that tradition still thrives is Santa Margarita Ranch, the oldest continually run land grant ranch in the state. Under the guidance of Kathy Loftus and ranch manager Aaron Lazanoff, they still raise and tend cattle the way the vaqueros did 300 years ago.

“People have no idea how much activity goes on down there when they're driving by on the freeway,” said Jensen.

The ranch is one of several Central Coast locations featured in the documentary. The Reagan Ranch in the Santa Ynez Mountains, the Cojo Jalama along the Pacific Ocean near Lompoc and the Dorrance Ranch near Salinas all get their share of the spotlight.